I first heard about Bitcoin during Economics my Sophomore year when the price was hovering around $1.00. Two years later, the cryptocurrency hit an all time high of $1124.

Bitcoin is an electronic currency that was created in order to cut out the middleman. There isn’t a central hub where Bitcoins are stored like the United States Federal Reserve; they are simply everywhere. A complex algorithm controls the creation of more coins to keep the market saturated without causing inflation. Like stocks, Bitcoin’s price fluctuates as it is bought and sold in the market. The adoption of Bitcoin as a universal currency would have made more headway if it hadn’t run into two large obstacles that hurt its public reputation. Bitcoin was the virtual dollar bill for the infamous Silk Road, a black market website where someone could buy anything from cocaine to hitmen. The second reason for the slow acceptance is security. Bitcoin itself is extremely secure, but the locations where they can be stored are not. Popular exchange hubs like Mt. Gox have been hacked in the past, which damaged the currency’s reputation as a whole. The safest place to store a stash of coins is on a hard drive locked away in a safe, protected place from hackers and robbers. Many view Bitcoin as the investment that they missed, but as time goes on, it seems that Bitcoin will become more prevalent in society. Today, this virtual currency can be used to buy thousands of products on the internet and in the coming years, items in brick and mortar stores as well.

The popular sci-fi drama Almost Human has Bitcoin as the universal currency by 2048. Popularity fluctuates like the price as economists call it the largest Ponzi Scheme of all time and the IRS’ decision to tax it as property, rather than accepting Bitcoin as a currency, but the general trend appears to be continuing to rise.

Bitcoin was invented to be free from government influence and aid the development of free market economies. As technology exponentially advances, science fiction quickly becomes reality. Bitcoin is definitely something that should be watched because it could very easily become an aspect of everyday life in the next couple years.